Mapping the Scholarly Communication Landscape 2019 Census. Katherine Skinner. Educopia Institute
June 20, 2019

Educopia Releases “Mapping the Scholarly Communication Landscape – 2019 Census” Report and Data Visualizations

We are pleased to announce a new report released by Educopia Publications: “Mapping the Scholarly Communication Landscape – 2019 Census.” The paper, authored by Katherine Skinner (Educopia) and edited by David Lewis, Mike Roy, and Melanie Schlosser, is the product of an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded project, “Mapping the Scholarly Communication Infrastructure,” led by Middlebury College (2018-2020).

This report documents the design, methods, and results of the 2019 Census of Scholarly Communication Infrastructure Providers (SCIP), conducted by this project team in Spring 2019. With more than 40 respondents to an in-depth survey, the SCIP Census documents key components comprising the organizational, business, and technical apparatuses of a broad range of Scholarly Communication Resources (SCRs) – the tools, services, and systems that are instrumental to the publishing and distribution of the scholarly record. 

Data visualizations have been used to highlight important findings for the two major datasets built in this project. A set of Tableau dashboards created by TrueBearing Consulting is referenced throughout our findings, and is available here:

The report summarizes the Census findings and recommends that more attention and funding needs to be directed towards support for the ongoing maintenance of both the business and technical apparatus supporting today’s scholarly communication tools, platforms, and services.

The report further recommends work to:

  • Produce a standardized taxonomy for scholarly communication functions
  • Establish academy-based standards that are used to assess service providers in scholarly communications
  • Conduct regular, rigorous research on and assessment of the programs and organizations that comprise our scholarly communication infrastructure
  • Identify and prioritize scholarly communication tools, platforms, and services that represent solid investments
  • Strengthen the capacity of scholarly communication tools, platforms, and services to build and sustain strong practices across key aspects of development, including vision and strategy, technical development and design, financial and staffing, community engagement, and governance.

The principal investigators of this project are Mike Roy (Middlebury College) and David Lewis (Emeritus, IUPUI). Data analysis and visualizations were led by Nathan Brown and Brianna Morrow (TrueBearing Consulting) in close partnership with Katherine Skinner and Melanie Schlosser (Educopia Institute).

The report is available as a free, downloadable PDF at Mapping the Scholarly Communication Landscape – 2019 Census It can also be downloaded from the Educopia web site.

We also invite all scholarly communication tools, platforms, and services to fill out the Census, which we have reopened for a second data entry period from June to September 2019. You can submit your information here: https://investinopen.org/census/